Three Lockheed Martin Owego programs have been allocated $1.2 billion in the federal spending plan approved last week.

The largest share, $445 million, was designated for the presidential helicopter program, a fleet of 23 copters being developed jointly by Owego and its new sister Sikorsky plant in Connecticut. The helicopter is popularly known as Marine One, and is frequently pictured taking off from the White House lawn.

An additional $400 million was allocated to the MH-60 Romeo and Sierra programs, shipboard choppers employed by the Navy in multi-purpose roles for sub-hunting, search and rescue missions and surface warfare, among other duties.

In all these programs, Sikorsky, acquired by Lockheed in 2015, builds the air frame while personnel at Lockheed's sprawling Owego plant outfits the units with avionics, weapons systems and other components required for the specific missions.

"The inclusion of this funding in the bipartisan omnibus package means we continue to ensure Lockheed has the funding it needs to keep workers on the job and move more and more of these helicopters down the assembly line,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

New presidential copters are expected to go into service in 2020, with production completed by 2023, though continued modification contracts are expected.

The program has a checkered past, with the original Lockheed contract canceled due to cost overruns and concerns about a foreign-produced air frame. A subsequent contract rebid satisfied the apparent political demands by matching a domestic air frame manufacturer, Sikorsky, with Lockheed.

Sub-hunting copters are a part of the Owego's legacy, tracing its roots back to when the site was part of IBM Corp.'s Federal Systems division. Originally known as the Light Airborne Multipurpose System, the program morphed into the MH-60 Romeo and Sierra, modernized aircraft with similar missions.

Lockheed won the Air Force contract for new search and rescue copters in 2014. The 112 new copters, much like the presidential program, will replace an aging fleet now in service.